Mechanical clothes washer and drier



Jan. 6,- 1931. c. c. SCHEELE 1,788,125

MECHANICAL CLOTHES WASHER AND DRIER iled Dec. 10. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l /NVENTOR h frmis Jan. 6, 1931. c. c. SCHEELE MECHANICAL CLOTHES WASHER AND DRIER "2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. l0. 1927 W TTORIIEYS Patented Jan. 6, I931 entree *S'TATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES C. SCHEELE, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO SYRACUSE WASHING MACHINE CORPORATION, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE MECHANICAL CLOTHES WASHER AND DRIER Applicationflfiled December 10, 1927. Serial No. 239,150. I I v ish which involves a considerable cost in.

their manufacture and, owing to the weight of the machine and the necessity for frequent handling in transportation from the manufacturer to the user, itsometimes happens that the vats will become more or less dented or marred to such an extent as to renderthem unsalable or to require reduction in retail rice.

The main o ject of the present invention is to provide these vats with protective shields covering the exterior thereof to protect the same from contact with external objects wlien-in storage, or'during transportation from place to place.- I I Anoth erobject is to make the protective shields in sections so that-in case any one or more of the sections should be marred or otherwise impaired it can be readily removed and replaced with a new one at a relatively small cost to the manufacturer or distributor, thus permitting the delivery of the machine to the user in a more perfect condition than has heretofore been possible. A further object is to permit the sections to be removed and replaced with a minimum expenditure of time and labor.

I Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the machine will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings 4 Figure 1 is a perspective View of a mechanical clothes washer and centrifugal drier embodying the various features of my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken in theplane of line 2-2, Figure 5.

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on line 33, Figure 1. 1

Figures 4: and 5 are detail vertical sectional views, partly broken away, through one side of one of the vats andadjacent portions of the lower and upper decks taken respectively in the planes of lines 44 and- 5--5, Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view, partly broken away, through'adjacent sides of the vats and portions of the lower and upper decks taken in the plane of line 66, Figure 3, showing more particularly the means for holding the adjacent edges of the protective shield sections in operative position. As illustrated, the frame of the machine comprises lower and upper horizontal decks 1 and 2' supported in vertically spaced relation upon a plurality of, in this instance three, legs 3 which are ar ranged at the angles of an isosceles triangle and extend upwardly along the outside of the vats as .--4 and -5 in spaced relation thereto, and are bolted or otherwise secured to the adjacent portions of the perimeters of the decks 1- and 2 to hold said decks in fixed relation.

The lower portions of the legs are bolted or otherwise secured to the angles of a tri- I thebase of the triangular brace -.7- while the smaller end is located more nearly directly over the apex of the brace so that the longitudinal centers of'the lower deck -land triangular base 7 are disposed in substantially the same vertical plane.

In like manner the vats 4- and -5 are of unequal diameters corresponding approximately to the diameters of the larger and smaller ends of the lower deck 1- upon which they are mounted side by side substantially co-axial with the adjacent circular ends of the deck, and therefore, the larger vat the brace 7-. a

The legs 3- extending upwardly along the outside of the vat 4- are arranged equal distances from and at opposite sides of the vertical plane passing through the axes of both vats and are also arranged equal distances from the intersection of said plane with the portion of the vat'4 adjacent the vat 5-. for a purpose hereinafter described' The other leg 3 extending vertically along the outside of the smaller vat -5- is located at the apex of the triangular brace -7 and in the vertical plane passing through the axes of both vats and, therefore, equal distances from the intersection of said plane with the portion of the vat 5 adj acent the vat 4.

As previously stated, these vats are usually made of a high quality and, therefore, expensive grade of sheet copper and have highly finished exterior and interior surfaces which are always susceptible to marring, denting or other impairment in storage or transportation, with the result that these impairments reduce the salability or at least the normal retail price of the machine, and in some instance, requires the return of the machine to the factory for repairs or replacements and, in order to overcome these difii- 1 culties as far as possible, I have provided each vat with a protective shield extending circumferentially around the outside there of and preferably corrugated circumferentially for stiffening purposes and also to form intervening air chambers to deaden the sound orinoise incidental to the operation of the mechanisms contained therein and also to retain the heat inthe vat.

The protective shield for the larger vat -4- comprises a series of, in this instance three, similar circumferentially corrugated sheet metal segments -9' of slightly less height than the vat 4 and each having a circumferential length of approximately one-third the circumference of the vat and when assembled edge to edge around the vat their meeting edges will be disposed in planes at equal angles to the axis of the vat passing through the centers of the correspending legs --3- and through the axes of both vats. 7

That is, the meeting edges of the innermost segments will be interposed'between the adjacent sides of the vats while the meeting edges of the same segments with the outermost segment will be interposed between the corresponding legs -3 and adjacent portions of the vat where they are held against interposed between the periphery of the ad'-" .jacent portion of the vat --'l and a down- 7 wardly extending annular band 12 of the upper deck 2 as shown more clearly in Figures 4 and 5.

The protective shield for the smaller vat 5 is preferably composed of two semicylindrical and circumferentially corrugated sheet metal sections l3 of substantially the same height as the vat 5- and having a combined circumferential length approximately equal to the circumference of the vat so that when assembled thereon the outer edges may meet at about the longitudinal center of the adjacent leg 3 or between said leg and the adjacent portion of the vatwhile the opposite meeting edges will be disposed between the adjacent portions of both vats and in substantially the same plane as the adjacent meeting edges of the sections 9 where they are held in place by the' clips I These clips preferably consist of U-shaped sheet metal clamps arranged in pairs at different levels, one pair near the bottom and the other near the top of the vat, those of each pair being reversely arranged in the same horizontal plane with their narrower sides facing each other and their opposite arms wedging against adjacent portions of the shield sections 9 and 13 at opposite sides of the adjacent vertical divisions or meeting ends of said sections. Associated with each pair of the clips 10\ is a U-shaped sheet metal nut section -14- interposed between the narrower sides of the clips in spaced relation thereto and having its opposite arms provided with threaded 'apertures 15 for receiving clamping screws 16 which are passed through registering apertures in the adjacent sides of the clips so that by tightening the screws -16 the clips 10- of each pair will be drawn tightly against the outer faces of the adjacent ends of the shield sections 9- and 13 with a wedging action to firmly hold those sections in operative position, it'being understood that the remaining meeting edges of the sections which are interposed between the legs -3- and adjacent portions of the corresponding vats will be held in place by said legs against outward displacement. 1

These sections 9- and 13 are relatively thin and pliable or easily sprung into place, but are nevertheless stifi" enough to retain their shape due to the corrugated construction.

The upper edges of the vats --4 and -5 are provided with out-turned reinforcing beads or flanges 4 and 5" respectively adapted to overhang the adjacent edges of the corresponding shield sections 9- and 13,, the bead 4 being also adapted to overhang the upper edge of the band 2. The portion 2 of the upper deck registering with the drier vat 5 is preferably made separate from the band 2 to form a drainboard which rests upon 7 the upper edge of the vat 5 and adjacent upper edge of the vat 4- as shown in Figure 6 and is provided with an opening bnormally closed by a lid -C as 1n Figure 1.

When placing the shield sections 9 in operative position, before the clips 10 are secured in place, their upper edges are slipped from their underside upwardly under and Within the marginal band 12 of the upper deck 2 and their end edges are inserted between the legs 3- and adjacent portions of their respective vats after which the lower flanged edges 11are forced between the bottom of the vat and lower deck The lower and upper ends of the shield sections 13 for the drier vat 5' are flanged. inwa'rdly at 11 and'11 and when placed in operative position'around said vat the lower flanges -11 are inserted under the bottom while the upper flanges 11'v will abut against the periphery of the vat adjacent the underside of the head 5'-'.

()ne of the clips -10. of each pair with the corresponding yoke or nut section 14+- connected thereto is then placed in operative position to receive its companion clip which latter is then tightened in place by the cor.- responding screw, or both screws may be similarly tightened to bring the clips in holding engagement with the adjacent portions of the sections 9- and 13, thus completing the assembling of the shield sections.

It is now evident that when the shield sections are assembled upon their respective vats in the manner described they will protect the outer surfaces thereof against contact with external objects, but in case ofinjury or disfigurement of anyone of the shields 'it may be readily removed and replaced at a comparatively small expense by simply loosening the clips 10 thus permitting the bottom of the injured section to be first drawn outwardly from between the bottom of the vat and deck -1- and then drawn downwardly out of engagement with the band 12 of a the upper deck or out of engagementwith vat, after which a new section may be replaced in the manner previously described.

Any suitable washing mechanism A may be operated within the vat 4 while any suitable drying mechanism -B, preferably of the centrifugal type, may be opersuitable driving mechanism mounted on; the underside of the lower deck and not necessary to herein further illustrate or describe for the reason that the invention forming the subject matter of the present application is directed to the protective shields for the vats irrespective of the mechanisms mounted therein.

The sections for the larger vat 4- are identical and may be formed by the same mold ordies.

The metal employed for these shields is quite resilient and while they may be pressed in a more or less concavo-convex form circumferentially they are preferably tensioned to spring toward a flat plane so thatwhen placed in operative position around their re spective vats this tension will assist in holding their end edges in frictional engagement with the legs 3 and clips --10- On the other hand, when the clips 10 are removed this same spring tension of the shields will assist the withdrawal or removal thereof from their operative positions.

It will also be noted that the air space between the shields and their respective vats serves to materially reduce the transfer of heat from the vats to the exterior of the shields and thereby conserves the energy required for maintaining a proper temperature of the washing or drying fluids.

I claim 1. A sheet metal vat, and supporting legs e xtending along the outside of the vat in circumferentially spaced relation, in combi nation with a protective shield extending around the outside of the vat and composed of sections having their upright edges interposed between the legs and vat.

2. The combination with a sheet metal vat,

a supporting deck for the bottom of the vat,

and a ring surrounding the upper end of the vat, of a sheet metal protective shield surrounding the vat in spaced relation thereto, and having its lower end resting on the deck and its upper end engaged with said ring.

3. The combination with a sheet metal vat, a supporting deck for the bottom of the vat, and a ring surrounding the upper end of the vat, of a sheet metal protective shield surrounding the vat, and having its lower end interposed between'the bottom of the vat and deck and its upper end inserted between the ring and -vat..

4. The combination with a sheet metal vat,

a supporting deck for the bottom of the vat and a ring surrounding the upper endo the vat, ofa sheet metal protective shield surrounding the Vat and divided along 'parallel' verticallinesinto segments, said segment's'having their lower ends resting on the deck and their upper ends loosely inserted between the ring and vat.

5. A protective shield for cylindrical vats comprising aplurality of segments of equal length and having a combined length when placed edge to edge slightly less than the circumference of the vat to-which they are to be applied, and means for securing the seg inents in spaced relation around the vat in circumferential spaced relation thereto. 6. A protective shield for cylindrical vats as in claim 5 in whichthe segments are made of resilient sheet metal and are corrugated circumferentially.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of December, 1927.

CHARLES C. SCHEELE. 

